The Perfect Dress
by becomes the day
Summary: Haley James wants to make one last attempt to convince her classmates she is not just nerdy tutor. She figures prom is the only way to change how they all see her but could one night lead to a lifetime of love? Naley
1. Nerves

There it is! That is the perfect dress and I will blow every other girl there out of the water. Finally all eyes will be on me. Four years in this miserable place and not one date she thought. There she was standing alone in the middle of her favorite local vintage store starring at what looked like the most beautiful prom dress anyone would ever wear. She quickly grabbed it off the rack and rushed over to an open dressing room. She quickly disrobed and slipped the beautiful dress over her thin frame. As she starred at herself in the mirror for the first time in Haley James life she left beautiful and sexy. She didn't feel like a tutor or a nerd she felt like a beautiful girl that everyone would be jealous of.

Yes she was thin and always had been but she was just that way naturally, her curves where rounded and she was seemingly the perfect weight for her frame. She had naturally blond hair but had died it on a constant basis various dark colors as long as she could remember and right now it was a nice soft shade of light brown. She had deep brown eyes and a beautifully clear complexion. All this may have seems like the perfect ingredients for popularity but there were things Haley never really bothered with like styling her hair, wearing makeup, and she took little consideration into her daily wardrobe. Haley was the type of girl who would wear whatever her mom bought her or sometimes made her. All her friends where boys and the closest female friend she had was her best friend, Lucas' mother.

Haley continued to stare at herself in the mirror in amazement she continued to run her small hands over the silky white fabric. The dress was white with black shoulder straps and a band of black lace that was positioned just under her bra line. The dress was short but not too short, the bottom landed just below her knees. This was by far the most beautiful and girly thing she had ever put on in her life. She could already see the cheerleaders dressed in short dresses with their boobs sticking out. She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous image of these girls in her head. As much as it scared her to step out of her comfort zone like this she knew it was now or never.

Haley pulled the dress off slowly and put her jeans, screen tee, and jean jacket back on and exited the dressing room. She walked over to the register and stood there for a while until Flow, the most absentminded vintage store owner ever created, finally pulled her head out of whatever article she was reading to check Haley out. Haley knew everyone who worked there she was a regular costumer this was the only place Haley ever shopped.

"Earth to Flow"

"Oh geez I'm sorry Haley find something good today? New vintage band tee? I know we got a few in the other day."

"Nope not today Flow. Today was all about the prom dress."

"Ok well let's see what you picked out girl. It's been years since my senior prom let me live vicariously through you my dear."

Haley pulled the dress up and draped it over the counter.

"My God Haley that dress is beautiful I didn't even realize we had it and excuse my look of shock but I never pictured you wearing something like this."

Haley pulled the dress back off the counter and released a breath of frustration. Did anyone think she was beautiful, guess not.

"Yeah I know it's not really me but it's kind of the point right? I mean prom is a week before graduation so it's kind of my last chance to leave an unforgettable impression on my classmates."

"Well I think it's a great idea let them all know what they could have had if they were smart enough. So how many of the Tree Hill High studs have asked you to the dance?"

"That would have to be somewhere between none and zero."

"Are you kidding me? These young boys are so stupid. What about all your friends couldn't you go with one of them?"

"Well let's see Jimmy, Mouth, Junk, Fergie, Lucas and Skills refuse to go because they think if they go it is some type of surrender to the conformist drones. So they are all going out of town that weekend because Skills' father is taking them to a Charlotte Bobcats game. It's the first time they have ever gotten a chance to go to an NBA game. So they are really excited."

"Basketball over their senior prom?" Flow paused for a moment with a disgusted look on her face.

"I know but the truth is not one of those boys could get a date so they are all making up excuses. Can you do me a huge favor if you see any of them could you not tell them about the dress?"

"Why?"

"Well they don't know I'm going to prom and I would like to keep it that way."

"Haley why wouldn't you tell them they are your best friends?"

"Look I have always done what was expected of me, I studied hard, I got the valedictorian title, I tutored, I kept the same job for four years at the café, I did all the right clubs and volunteer work. I always made it home by curfew and I got accepted to Stanford. I've never drank, done drugs, or involved myself in any sort of risky behavior."

"Yes we all know you're a good girl Haley but you always do what others expect from you what about what you expect from yourself?"

Haley dropped her head and looked down at the floor. Had she really missed out on living her life for herself and lived it for the people around her? There were so many things Haley wanted to do. She wanted to be someone people were envious of. She wanted to show people she could sing, play guitar and piano beautifully. She wanted everyone to know that being a musician was her true passion. She wanted to fall in love and do something spontaneous for once. She wanted to shock people. She wanted to amaze people and change everything they had ever thought about her but Haley knew the truth was most people never thought about her. She was invisible.

Haley and her group of friends had always been the losers, the nerds, the outsiders. They were either picked on or ignored all together. She rationalized part of it was their own fault for spending all their time at the river court, Karen's Café, Keith's Body Shop or the old movie theatre downtown. None of these places where real hot spots for the Tree Hill High Schools elite crowd. While the majority of their school piled into the gym every Friday night to watch the famous Tree Hill Ravens basketball team win championship after championship, her crowd hung around the park. Haley had spent many a Friday night watching Lucas, Fergie, Skills, and Junk play basketball while she sat on the benches and listened to Mouth and Jimmy pretend they were famous sports announcers. Haley never complained, she never asked them to attended one of the dances in lew of playing mini golf on the roof of the café or going to some house party instead of watching old movies at Luke's. She liked her life and she loved her friends but sometimes she hated how much of an outsider she was.

"Look Flow, I understand where your coming from but you just have to understand that for once in my life I just want to be a looked at a woman and not a loser, nerd."

"Haley I doubt anyone looks at you as a loser or a nerd."

"Your right no one looks at me at all. I really don't want to go off to college without ever having really lived my life, you know. I just don't want the guys to know because I don't think they will understand."

"Haley, as we all know none of those boys are studs so I'm sure they feel the same way you do but then again they're boys so they will probably never tell you but they wish for all the same things you. Ok girlie."

"Alright I know we all aren't exactly experienced but I need to do this for myself. I feel like if they found out what I'm planning on then they would just try and convince me to back out and the truth is I would cave after a while just so I wouldn't have to listen to it anymore."

"Hey they might surprise you and end up offering to go with you." She slyly cocked her eyebrow.

"Ha!" Haley laughed shortly.

"Ok even if there was some shift in the time space continuum and they wanted to go to this prom I wouldn't want them to. I know that if we all showed up together I was just blend into the background and end up spending the whole night sitting in the corner. This way I can make a grand entrance, mingle, and maybe even get asked to dance by a cute guy."

"You know you're probably right but I still think you should tell Luke. Out of all of those crazy boys I think he would understand."

"I know he would understand but I just really need to do this for myself." Haley said defiantly.

"Alright, alright." Flow had finished ringing up the dress and handed Haley the dress in a brown paper bag.

Haley gave her a small goodbye wave and exited the store. Haley quickly made her way to Karen's Café. She entered in the back door and caught Karen coming out of the stock room.

"Hey Karen, is Luke around?"

"Nope."

"Good I need to talk to you and I kinda don't want him to hear this."

"Haley you tell him everything what's going on?"

"Well you have known me since I was what seven years old and you know I have never made a hasty, rash decision in my life."

"Ok Haley get on with it."

"It just I've always been invisible and I just really want a chance to stand out and try something new."

"Is this about a boy?"

"Well I guess you could say that. You know I never had a guy so much as kiss me and I really don't want to go off college without having to really experience life. You know I want romance or even a summer fling. Just something because it seems like all the guys I like never notice me."

"Oh Haley if this is about Lucas I can say something to him. You know that boy is so oblivious and sometimes he can't see what is right in front of him. I always knew there was something more than just friendship between you two."

"Oh my god. No way! That is just gross Karen come on." Cringing with a look of pure discuss on her face. Haley could never think of Lucas in that way it would definitely be incest. He was like a brother to her.

"Aww Haley you know I always wanted you two to end up together. I still maintain you crazy kids will get married some day. Just think about it, Haley James Scott. It has a nice ring to it."

"Oh wow no way that just sounds God awful." Haley laughed inwardly to herself. She could never imagine herself marrying Lucas and Haley James Scott just sounded weird.

"Alright so you if you don't have a crush on my son then what is going on."

"Well I've figured out a way to change my love life. I want to go to prom and I don't want the boys to know anything about this. You know how they feel about it."

"Ok but what do you think this will change?"

"I feel like if I go to this dance by myself and really put myself out there then maybe just maybe my classmates will remember me as someone cool and fun and not the boring bookworm. I also got the most amazing dress I really would love to turn heads for once."

"Good for you Haley. What do you need from me?"

"Well I was hoping you could do my hair and makeup."

"I would be glad to. Why don't you meet me here two hours before the dance, I'll treat you to dinner then we can go over to my house and I'll help you get ready."

"Thanks so much you're a life saver."

"Don't mention it. I always wanted a daughter to dress up and I've always considered you my adopted daughter anyway. This will be fun. I can drive you to the dance if you want."

"Well is there any chance you and Keith could drop me off but leave my parents car in the lot just in case I want to bail."

"Sure thing Haley, you know I believe this conversation has made you late for your shift you better get to work I heard your boss is a real hard ass."

"Hahaha, very funny Karen."

"No I'm serious I may even have to dock your pay for this." Karen said with a smile.

Haley worked the rest of the day until closing. The café had been pretty busy which helped Haley keep her mind off the dance. For the next week leading up to the day of prom Haley's nerves were on edge, she had a tendency to talk to blurt things out when he got nervous so she kept her guard up all week around the guys. She didn't want to say the wrong thing and let her secret slip out. So when the boys left for their trip Friday morning Haley could finally breathe easy. She got up late Saturday morning in preparation for the long night ahead of her and packed her dress, a matching black purse and a beautiful pair of black heels into her bag and threw it next to her bed. As she walked into her kitchen she noticed a note attached to the refrigerator. It read:

Dear Haley-bob,

You slept in for the first time in your life and we didn't want to disturb you. Your sister Quinn called and said her and David need some help with the new house and asked us to come out there for the weekend. We will be back Monday morning, have fun and don't smoke too much crack.

Love your amazing Mom and Dad.

To Haley this wasn't much of a surprise her parents had left her alone to go visit her siblings all the time. Usually she would be mad that they had abandoned her once again but this time she was glad they would be gone. This way they wouldn't find out about her plans for tonight. After grabbing a quick breakfast Haley drove off in her parent's old mini-van to a hair dresser about an hour outside of Tree Hill. She wanted to make sure she wouldn't run into anyone from school. She nervously parked the van and made her way into the salon. After two of the longest hours of her life Haley emerged. She had been so nervous about this but she knew it was the right decision. She drove back to her house and relaxed all afternoon until it was time to head over to the café.

Karen was just starting to shut things down when Haley walked in the door of the café with her head down. Karen had a hand full of dishes and nearly shattered them when she saw Haley.

"Oh my god, Haley James, your hair!"

"You hate it don't you. Oh I knew this was a bad idea."

"No Haley it looks beautiful. I can't remember the last time your hair was blond. It is such a beautiful color. What do you call that?"

"Dirty blond." Haley laughed.

"Well I'm glad you didn't go crazy and try to bleach it. That color works so well on you. It looks almost exactly like your hair did when you were a little girl."

"Thanks Karen I took a picture in and asked them to try their best to get it back to my natural hair color."

"Well they did an amazing job but if u went to a hair dresser why didn't you have them do you hair?"

"Well I thought it would be more fun if you did it. Plus I figured you would do it for free and I would have to pay them."

"True."

Karen closed up the restaurant and the two women ate dinner and talked excitedly about everything from Haley's dress to what type of hair style she wanted to what time she wanted to make her grand entrance. Then they made their way to Karen's house. Karen had set up the kitchen will all her beauty arsenal ready for whatever Haley needed. Haley put her bag in Lucas' room and hung her dress from his closet door. Then she went into the kitchen and sat down in the car Karen had placed in the center of the room for Haley.

"Alright girly what do you want me to do with this beautiful hair of yours?"

"I was thinking you could do some big soft curls and pin one of the sides back."

"Alright sounds easy enough. So what do you want to do about your makeup?"

"I was thinking really understated some pink blush and maybe some sort of flesh colored lip gloss."

"Alright here we go."

Karen worked tirelessly for a good hour. When she finally finished she walked in front of Haley and took a moment to admire her fine work. Karen took a deep breath she had one an amazing job. Haley looked breathtakingly beautiful but Karen knew Haley always had been. She finally handed Haley a mirror.

Haley starred into the mirror with the most confused feeling she had ever had. The reflection starring back at her was almost unrecognizable. She looked beautiful and this shocked Haley. She was so happy she began to tear up but Karen quickly handed her a tissue.

"Aww Haley don't cry, you will ruin your beautiful makeup."

"Thank you so much Karen."

"Ok enough it's time for you to get ready girly or you will be late for your grand entrance."

Haley climbed slowly off her chair and headed into Lucas' bedroom. She quietly closed the door behind her and began to get ready. She stepped into her dress instead of pulling it over her head so as to not mess up her hair. Then she strapped on her heals, grabbed her bag and went back into the kitchen.

Karen had been picking up the kitchen but stopped for a moment to look at Haley.

"So what do you think?"

"Good but you're missing something?"

Haley walked back a few paces and took a look at herself in the bathroom mirror.

"What it is?" Haley expression was panicked.

"I think I might have just the thing." Karen walked down the hall and into her bedroom. Haley stood in the doorway and watched Karen rummage through her jewelry box. Finally Karen found what she was looking for and walked back into the hall and handed Haley a pair of simple but beautiful diamond earrings. Haley looked down at them.

"Oh Karen these are beautiful. Are you sure they look real?"

"Well they are and normally I don't wear them for fear of losing them cause those things where damn expensive. I only wear them on special occasions but I think this counts."

"Are you sure about this Karen?"

"Yes, know go put them on."

Haley went into the bathroom and put the earrings in and took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Then she heard the door bell ring.

"Haley its Keith, get your butt out here it's time to go."

Haley took one last look at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. This would be the beginning for everything she had ever wished for. This is going to be either the greatest night of her life or the worst.


	2. Parting of the Seas

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, background stories, selected dialogue, or song lyrics.

Finally after months of worry and preparation the moment had arrived. As she sat in the back seat of Karen's car waiting for Keith to park her parent's car and bring her the keys she contemplated one last time whether she was doing the right thing or not. Suddenly she was brought out of her day dream by Karen.

"So are you ready to do this?"

"Would is sound crazy if I told you there is a good chance I might throw up."

"Nope I wouldn't blame you this is a big step Haley. You have to know that I'm incredibly proud of you for stepping out on your own like this."

"Thanks Karen, this is just getting kind of real now and I'm not sure this was such a good idea." Haley began to become increasingly discouraged, her nerves were beginning to make her sick to her stomach. As she turned to look out the window she was faced with her greatest fears. The pretty and the popular where just emerging from their stretch limo, there they were in all their glory.

Haley knew every single one of them but none of them knew her. The first person to emerge was Brooke Davis, without a doubt the most popular girl in their grade. Brooke was beautiful, rich, impeccably dressed, head cheerleader, and all around social butterfly. As she emerged from the limo she looked almost in a rush to get inside the dance, she was laughing hysterically, most likely a little buzzed or full on drunk. Her long brunette hair was in big loose curls, she was decked out in beautiful pearls. Her dress was a floor length silky fire engine red and the color of her lips matched her dress perfectly. She was clutching a black wrap with one hand and her dates hand in the other pulling him from the limo. She had been asked by numerous guys but evidently had ended up asking the new kid, Chase Adams. He seemed to be the one guy immune to her womanly ways so that made him her ideal get. Chase was dressed in a classic black suit and looked gorgeous as always. After Brooke and Chase one cheerleader and their basketball star date emerged one couple at a time.

Haley recognized all of the cheerleaders Theresa, Ashley, Bevin Mirskey, Rachel Gatina, and the last girl to emerge but certainly not least was Peyton Sawyer. She looked amazing her blond hair was in tight curls and a portion of her hair had been clipped back. She was wearing a floor length white gown with beautiful ruffles and silver beading. Peyton was someone Haley always wondered about. She was not your typical popular cheerleader. Peyton wore mostly dark colors, punk rock indie band tees, converse, checkered skirts, and carried around a black sketch book covered in band stickers. For someone so popular she sat alone immersed in her sketch book all the time. Everyone knew about how Peyton's mom had died so Haley always figured that's where Peyton's darkness came from. She was a beautiful girl with so much pain in her eyes. Peyton's date was none other than her boyfriend of one year and teenage single dad, Jake Jagielski. They seemed like the perfect couple. Ever since they began dating Peyton's pain and darkness had seemed to all but disappear. For two people with so many problems they seemed to make each other blissfully happy.

The last two people out of the limo where most definitely the two most popular guys in the entire school maybe even the entire town. Both of them dateless, Haley had over heard them using the term "don't bring sand to the beach" as an explanation for not having dates. She was sure every girl in the school had waited anxiously in hopes they would be the boys last minute dates but no such luck. The one of the boys was Tim Smith. The kid was short but cute, he was a good basketball player not great but good. He wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch and he wasn't the smoothest with ladies but he was the best friend of the Tree Hill Raven's basketball team's star shooting guard and team captain, Nathan Scott. So that made him insanely popular. He did whatever Nathan told him and seemed to idolize him in every way.

Nathan Scott was the very last to emerge from the limo. What was there to say about Nathan that hadn't already been uttered a hundred times over. The boy was without a doubt one of the most beautiful men Haley had ever seen. He was six one with short brown hair, smooth facial features, a ripped body, and the most beautiful cobalt blue eyes. His talent as a player was astounding there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the future Duke University Blue Devil would end up in the NBA within the next five years easy. This boy played like no one else and he knew it. His father was Dan Scott, the owner of the very successful Dan Scott Motors and Mayor of Tree Hill. So obviously Nathan was rich and he flaunted his wealth. Dan had been a basketball star when he was young and he pushed Nathan to be the best. Nathan was talented, beautiful, a ladies' man, and one of the cockiest men to ever grace the Earth. He did what he wanted all the time of most of it was sucky or mean. As far as Haley was concerned he was a bastard. He had a violent streak and found himself in the center of countless brawls. He beat up nerds when he got bored and the rest of the time ignored everyone else. He had dated Peyton Sawyer for a year and a half until finally she dumped him after she discovered that Nathan had stolen her car, drunk drove and got into a hit and run. She had finally realized what an ass he was and dumped him. Neither seemed very upset over the breakup. Nathan took the break up as an opportunity to hook up with as many girls as he could and they were all very willing. This made Haley dislike him even more not to mention that he was her best friend's biological half brother.

Lucas and Nathan had the same father, Dan Scott. Dan had dated Karen in high school and gotten her pregnant their senior year then abandoned her to go off to play college basketball. He quickly met Nathan's mom and three months later she was pregnant too. Dan decided to return to Tree Hill with Nathan's mom, Deb, they got married and Dan never went anywhere near Lucas or Karen. Dan was an ass of a human being and Nathan seemed to be the reason the phrase, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", was created. Lucas and Karen never spoke of Dan and neither did Keith. Even though Keith was Dan's brother and they had grown up together he sided with Karen. It was evident to everyone but Karen that Keith was and always had been in love with her. Keith was for all intensive purposes Lucas' father. He had helped Karen raised Lucas and was always there for whatever they needed. After considering all of this Haley realized how incredibly messed up this all was. Nathan and Lucas were perfect strangers, they had never spoken to one another and both acted as thought the other didn't exist. They both had a passion for basketball but Luke refused to be on the team even though Keith had encouraged him not to waste his talent. Keith even convinced the coach, Whitey Durham, go watch Lucas play at the river court last fall when the team had just had a bunch of players suspended. Lucas was good, damn good, and Whitey saw that. He approached Lucas about joining the team but Lucas had turned him down because he claimed he never wanted to be part of that world.

Haley wondered from time to time how different her life would have been if Lucas had joined the team. She imagined how popular her best friend would have become and how that would have affected her social standing. Maybe she would have been friends with Brooke and Peyton. Maybe she would have joined the cheerleading squad, maybe she would have ended up dating one of the basketball players. The thought brought a small laugh to her lips, all of those things sounded impossibly strange and in no way believable. Haley James cheerleader, best friend of Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer, and Tree Hill Raven's basketball player's girlfriend. Ha! Like that would ever happen. Not in a million years would Haley's life ever turn out like that. Suddenly Haley realized Keith was back in the driver's seat waving the keys to her parents van in her face.

"Here you go kiddo just in case things do go as planned."

"First off there is no plan and second of all thank you both so much." Haley turned to Karen who was sitting in the passenger's seat. "How long have we been sitting here?"

"About a half an hour. I kept contemplating pulling you out of whatever day dream slash nightmare you where having but I came to the conclusion you probably needed a few minutes to settle your nerves."

"Yeah a few minutes not a half hour." Keith chimed in sarcastically.

"Keith be nice this is a big night for Haley." Karen swatted Keith playfully on the arm and looked back at a beautiful but visibly nervous Haley. "Alright girl the danced started at eight and it is currently ten o' clock. So it's time to go."

Haley took a deep breath, grabbed the keys from Keith and shoved them into her small black bag. She gave Karen as small reassuring smile and slowly opened the door. She stepped out using an incredible amount of caution as not to trip in fall in her heels. As she approached the make shift red carpet the school had laid out for the students to walk down as they approached the dance, she noticed it was empty. It seemed everyone had already arrived and Haley was late. This made her even more nervous and she walked inside and over towards the ticket table. Erica Marsh was working it as always, the class suck up, class president of six years, and Haley's only real competition for her valedictorian title. As Haley approached the table with ticket in hand she readied herself for whatever snide comment Erica had prepared but was shocked to see a smile on Eric's face. Erica didn't seem to recognize Haley, she just took her ticket, and rubber stamped her hand. Haley could not believe Erica didn't recognize her and in a way it made her feel bad because obvious no one would assume Haley James could look this good but it also filled her with a sense of hope that maybe just maybe she could turn things around tonight.

She stood in the doorway of the dance for a moment. The room was beautifully decorated in a Las Vegas casino theme. It was obvious the party was in full swings, loud music blasting, couples grinding on the dance floor, others sitting at table drinking what she could only assume was spiked punch. Everyone looked incredible. In the middle of the dance floor was the group she had seen emerge from the limo, grinding, throwing their hands in the air, laughing, and having what looked like an amazing night. Just as Haley entered the room the music transformed into a slow song, it was a song Haley knew well. The music swelled and everyone changed positions and dance partners.

Welcome to the planet

Welcome to existence

Everyone's here

Everyone's here

Everybody's watching you now

Everybody waits for you now

What happens next?

What happens next?

As Haley approached the dance floor she noticed that heads began to turn. She wasn't sure at first but quickly began to realize that people were starring at her. Haley heard people whisper, who is that? She heard a few whistles from guys as she walked past them. Her checks were bright pink with all the blood rushing into her face. She was starring down at her hands as she fidgeted with the strap on her purse. Everyone became increasingly quiet when Haley finally looked up she had to blink her eyes a few times before she could believe that this was real and not a scene out of a movie. Everyone on the dance floor stood frozen starring right at Haley. Several of the cheerleaders were whispering back and forth about this mystery girl. Who was she? Where had she come from? Who was she with? Did anyone know her? All of a sudden Haley began to walk forward onto the dance floor and the crowd parted.

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened before

Haley wasn't sure what she was doing but she figured if everyone was going to stare at her she would give them something to watch. When she reached the center of the dance floor she noticed that there was still one person with their back to her. So Haley mustered all the courage she had and walked right up behind this very tall boy and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Would you like to dance?"

As he spun around Haley quickly regretted her decision. The look on his face went from annoyance to shock to delight in a matter of seconds. She could tell he was wondering who she was. He was most definitely stunned and said nothing for a few moments. They both stood in silence which was shocking due to the fact that neither one of them where the, at a loss for words type. After a while he finally broke the silence.

"My God you are beautiful." His sentiment seemed genuine but Haley wasn't easily swayed. After all this was Nathan Scott. She had made a huge mistake this guy was the last person she wanted to dance with.

Welcome to the fallout

Welcome to resistance

The tension is here

The tension is here

Between who you are and who you could be

Between how it is and how it should be

But she rationalized she couldn't back out now. She saw Tim Smith standing next to Nathan with his jaw on the floor. So Haley figured she would just go with it and handed Tim her bag.

"Mind holding this for me?" Tim didn't answer he just took a deep breath, nodded his head, and took her bag from her. Everyone had begun to form a circle around her and Nathan. She held her hand out and couldn't help but giggle to herself. This boy was dumb founded he had not moved an inch since she had asked him to dance. As she turned towards him and held her hand out for him a smile slowly crept across his face. He slowly almost reluctantly took her hand and led her to the very center of the dance floor. Then he pulled her in front of him and he placed his arms around her waist. Haley placed her arms around his neck and they began to sway with the music and everyone looked on. Haley try to keep her eyes on her feet concentrating on her clumsy feet but she could feel his deep blue eyes staring down at her. It was like his eyes where burning into her face.

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell

Where can you run to escape from yourself?

Where you gonna go?

Where you gonna go?

Salvation is here

Thank you so much for the great feedback. More to come I promise I like to update quickly. The song is Dare You To Move by Switchfoot. Look forward to much more Nathan and Haley. I'm thinking about going more into Nathan's POV tell me what you think.


	3. Adventure Night

Thanks for the incredible words of encouragement. It means the world to me. Sorry I haven't updated in forever but college has been extremely busy recently. Thank you to **miss-supernatural-1992, Ninpinpin, nathanscottlover, saderia, mirna23, GottaluvNaley, 23-Naley4ever-23, bratgirl25, AJE33192, Naleyalwaysand4ever, BaFflEd'n'BefFudLed, tutorgrrl102 .**

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened before

The sweeping tune came to close and everyone remained in the ominous circle surrounding this couple. Everyone stood frozen and watched the most popular boy in their school dancing with this beautiful mystery woman. The crowd watched as the room fell silent and the fascinating couple remained in each other's embrace.

Finally Haley broke free from the Nathan's intoxicating gaze and began to become increasingly aware of the dozens and dozens of eyes on her right now. Well she wanted attention and she sure as hell got it. She began to look down at her feet all the while aware that Nathan had yet to take his eyes off her. Finally the DJ started up a new song some type of fast hip hop number and everyone began to spread out on the dance floor and resume their position before Haley's entrance. Haley took this opportunity to brake from Nathan's embrace but just as she tried to walk away he grabbed her wrist.

All he could think was I don't know who this girl is but I need to be near her. I need to know her and I can't just let her walk away.

Haley was shocked by his action and turned back to look at him with a pleading smile and slipped her wrist out from under his grasp and grabbed her bag from a still dumbfounded Tim Smith. Haley ran from the dance floor, out of the room, and down the hall to the one place she felt safe. The tutor center but the door was locked so she slid down the door and sat herself on the floor.

What the hell just happened? What did I just do? I think I just danced with Nathan Scott and I'm pretty sure I flirted with Nathan Scott. My God, this was a huge mistake if Luke finds out about this he is going to flip I need to get as far from here as possible.

As she began to make her way down the hall she heard two hurried footsteps coming quickly behind her. She had two options she could run and draw more attention to herself or turn around and face whoever it was. Suddenly the footsteps came to a sudden halt then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Slowly and reluctantly she turned around and to her surprise Nathan Scott stood towering over her. She thought again I have two options I can either play this mystery girl thing up or I could get all mad and tell him who I am and he could never speak to me again.

"There you are I've been looking everywhere for you. Where did you go?" His eyes were filled with confusion and sincerity. She had never seen Nathan Scott do anything remotely sincere in his life. So she decided to play into the moment.

"I just needed some air; the people in there were making me a little edgy. I mean did you see them all starring at us? What was such the big deal?"

"I guess they aren't used to seeing girls as stunningly beautiful as yourself."

"Well thank you but the flattery is not necessary."

"Yeah I'm sure you get it all the time."

"Well not as much as one would think." Haley could not help but laugh out loud as this was the first time in her life that a guy had said anything like that to her. She was sure he thought she was this temptress who had been fawned over her entire life. Boy was he wrong.

"I find that hard to believe considering I know for a fact that every guy in that room was insanely jealous of me." He said with a cocky smirk.

"And how do you know that?"

"I know if I wasn't the one dancing with you then I would have been jealous. So all those other guys were extremely jealous of me and my skills."

"You and your skills. Ha! I'm pretty sure I approached you and you just stood there and starred at me. So if those are your skills I'm worried about your ability to hook a woman."

"You know normally I'm much smoother than that but you just surprised me."

"How so?" She replied almost shocked.

"You where so beautiful and so outgoing. Between approaching a total stranger and asking him to dance to handing your bag off to Tim."

"Oh yeah Tim that was one of my finer moments if I do say so myself."

"So you ready to go back inside?"

"The dance? No I don't think so."

"What, why not?"

"Well I think I've done enough damage for the night."

"Come on please you can't leave." He was pleading; Nathan Scott was almost graveling at her feet. Haley had to take advantage of this moment for everyone this guy had ever pushed around or ignored.

"I'm just over this whole dance thing. I'll see you around." She began to walk away.

"Wait will I see you around? How will I find you again? Wait what is your name?"

"My name is Haley and you will see me again but then again this could have been our one and only moment together."

"This perfect moment cannot be all I get, please Haley. If you really want to get out of here then I will leave with you and go wherever you want. Please."

Well he looked sincere and a little desperate but she could not help but love the fact that this boy was so obviously infatuated with her. So quickly she made up her mind that this night was going to be everything the last eighteen years of her life had never been. This night would be crazy, wild, unpredictable, and hopefully something they could both look back on as a fun night with a total stranger. Yes she knew Nathan Scott but she had never spoken to him before and knew nothing about what he was like on the inside so he might as well have been a total stranger.

"Alright your on Nathan Scott let's get out of here and do some damage."

"Wait you know me?"

"Nope, I know your name but I don't think I could ever say I know you."

"Mysterious I like it. So where are we going miss adventure?"

Nathan looked eager maybe a little too eager so Haley decided to was time to slow things down a bit.

"Hey we are not leaving just yet. Don't you have your minions to report to?"

"Well if they are my so called minions then they report to me not the other way around. They will live if I leave plus it's not like I had a date or anything?"

"You mean Tim isn't your date?"

"Haha, very funny."

Suddenly Haley realized that this boy who had been such a thorn in the side of so many people in her life was literally at her beck and call me decided she would take advantage of this while she could. She was never popular but with him she could be the most popular girl in the room. She decided right then and there if she was going to do this then she would play this up as much as she could. To him she seemed overly confident and experienced so that's what she would try to put off the rest of the evening. Haley thought to herself, this is only one night it won't be a big deal I'm sure on Monday they will all forget about me when I look like normal hum drum Haley James. What harm could this do?

"Alright let's not be too eager you don't want to come off desperate?"

"Me desperate, haha!" he scoffed but he was he was indeed desperate to be near her. He wanted so badly to stare into those beautiful brown eyes, to run his hand through her shimmering golden locks, and……He was getting ahead of himself. He needed had just met her and he could tell she would not be as easily swayed by his charms as most girls where. This one would be a challenged and he loved a good challenge.

"First things first I've decided I want to go back into the dance but considering I don't really know any of your friends you will have to introduce me." She had always prided herself on being someone who never cared about hanging with the popular crowd but then again she was always curious about their world. So if she had a chance to be in that world even for one night she was going to take it.

"Deal but you need to do something for me."

"Alright, what?"

"I need you to pretend to be my date for the night?" This could work he thought. If she agrees maybe just maybe he could win her over. He thought to himself that regardless of how the night ends at least he would get to spend time with the beautiful girl.

Haley was shocked but pleased. "I think I can do that."

Nathan held out his arm and she intertwined her arm with his. She looked up at Nathan and couldn't help but smile. He looked so incredibly pleased to have her agree to this she could not help but be happy. It was like the happiness spilling from him was consuming her and dragging her down towards him.


	4. Ex Girlfriends

Sorry I haven't updated in forever college has just been keeping me really busy. I promise there is much more to come.

The music was so loud with the beat of top forty hip hop it could be heard throughout the entire school most likely even into the parking lot. Everyone was dancing along but the dance was nearing the end and people began to get tired and leave the dance floor but not Haley. She was still the center of attention, dancing in the very center of the dance floor surrounded by cheerleaders, basketball plays, the rich, the beautiful, and the most popular students at Tree Hill High who appeared to be fighting each other to get close to her. Everyone seemed attracted to the fact that this girl was a total mystery to them. To every guy in there she was beautiful, mysterious, and incredibly confident, they all wanted to be the one who ended their night with her and every girl saw Haley has this confident, fun, energetic person who they all wanted to party with. Haley was so incredibly happy and alive; she had never felt so alive in her life. It was as if she had spent the last eighteen years of her life asleep and she had just now woken up. It might have been because she was the center of attention, or because she felt beautiful for the first time in her life, or because no one seemed to know her, but none of those were the real reason she felt so elated it was due to one boy. Nathan had never left her side for one moment to be more specific he had never stopped starring at her either. They danced every dance together he never let go of her.

As the song faded out into some weird oldie song everyone began to walk from the dance floor but Nathan knew that if he didn't say something Haley would just keep right on dancing. She hadn't sat one dance out all night and every song seemed to be her favorite or at the very least she danced as though it was. This girl had tired him out and he desperately needed a break.

"Hey Haley, you want something to drink?" Nathan said trying to coax her off the dance floor. Haley had no intention of leaving the dance floor until she noticed that Nathan looked exhausted. So she decided to help him out and pretend to need a rest herself even though she wasn't remotely tired.

"Yeah you know what now that you mention it I could definitely use something to drink." They walked off the dance floor and Nathan pulled out a chair for Haley at the nearest table. She sat down and he walked to the back of the room to get her a drink. Haley sat quietly watching the people still left on the dance floor and marveling at her incredible night. Then suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts when she heard someone pull out the chair beside her and sit down. She looked over only to see Peyton Sawyer. She figured this was a good a time as any to talk with her.

"Hey", she spoke very cool and nonchalant.

"Hey", Peyton replied but she seemed to phrase it like a question rather than a greeting. Haley could see the confusion on Peyton's face.

"You're Peyton, right?" Haley replied acting as if she had some vague knowledge of this girl's existence. Peyton extended her hand and leaned over.

"You're Haley James, right?" The look of shock on Haley's face gave away the answer to that question.

"I thought so but I didn't want to out you in front of the masses. I promise your secret safe with me." Peyton leaned back and gave Haley a wink and a quick pat on the knee.

"How did you know?" was all Haley could seem to mutter out still entirely shocked Peyton Sawyer knew who she was.

"Well you might not know this but I know you better than you might think." Haley was even more confused now. Peyton decided that Haley was confused enough as it was so she decided to explain herself.

"You see my boyfriend Jake Jagielski knows you and he seems to think a great deal of you. I've heard a lot of good things about you like how you're our valedictorian, student leader for tutor program, president of the community service club, and Lucas Scott's best friend." She paused figuring that last one would be the most surprising of all. Peyton gave Haley a few seconds to process before she continued.

"Yeah I remember last fall when my lovely ex-boyfriend nearly had a heart attack when Whitey offered Lucas a spot on the team and Lucas challenged him to a one on one game and handed Nathan his ass. You were right by Lucas' side cheering him on the whole time we all thought you were his girlfriend. I'm surprised Nathan never tried to get with you just to piss Lucas off but then again I doubt he is smart enough to come up with something like that. Trust that was not easily forgotten but it stays with me for different reasons then most." Again Haley was confused.

"I was so happy that Lucas put Nathan in his place but more than that I'm glad he turned Whitey's offer down. Lucas made the right decision by choosing not to be a part of that world." Haley didn't always feel that Lucas' decision was the right one.

"Really because I know Lucas better than anyone else and sometimes I think he made a huge mistake. I mean his life would be so different now; heck my life would be different now with my best friend the star of the basketball team. God only knows how my life would have turned out."

"Well chances are this night would have gone just like this but everyone would have known who you really were and somehow I think you and Nathan would probably be here together." Peyton laughed to herself and Haley starred at her yet again completely confused.

"Look Haley that boy has not taken his eyes or hands for that matter off you all night. He has prevented any other guy from trying to dance with you. I believe he threatened bodily harm a few times. I have never seen Nathan this attentive towards as girl in his entire life. He is completely enthralled with you. I think if you guys had met last year he would be head over heels in love with you by this point." Peyton laughed and gave Haley a friendly nudge.

Haley could only think that it was about time someone invented a term for feeling beyond confused and shocked because that would be the one she could use to describe her current emotion state. What all this even real? Was Peyton Sawyer not only talking to her but relaying stories of how well she knows her? Did Peyton just tell her that Nathan Scott was visibly enthralled with her? No. Haley tried her best to push all of this down and keep up her cool facade but Peyton wasn't finished.

"Look I know this world looks so appealing but trust me you were way better off your crowd than mine." Peyton looked over and saw Nathan walking towards the table with two drinks in his hand. She decided it was time to take off.

"Well it was nice finally getting a chance to talk with you and thanks so much for getting Jake the job at the tutor center. You have no idea how much that meant to him." Peyton got up and started to walk away then suddenly turned on her heels.

"Look Haley I know he seems harmless but please be careful." Peyton said nodding in Nathan's direction. "If this goes any further than this dance don't let him convince you to do anything you wouldn't normally do. Those blue eyes can be very persuasive. Trust me and trust me when I tell you that that can lead down a dangerous path."

"Says the ex-girlfriend." Haley replied sarcastically as an attempt to brush off Peyton's scary warning.

"Yeah I know but after being with Jake I realized how messed up me and Nathan's relationship was."

"No I get it but don't worry I'm just having fun that's all. I've heard the stories and I remember last fall. I could never get involved with him. Oh and tell Jake I said hi."

"Good and I will". This time Peyton left for real and walked over to Jake who led her onto the dance floor. Haley saw Peyton lean over to Jake and whisper something in his ear. Then she watched Jake shake his head and turn around to give Haley a quick wave. Haley smiled and waved back, she had always liked Jake. He seemed so sweet and over the last few years they had gotten quiet close working in the tutor center together. Jake had told her about his daughter, Jenny, and how much he needed the money so Haley gave him the most tutees as possible. This made both of them near constant figures in the tutor center. Jake never brought Peyton or any of his basketball buddies around so anytime he and Haley talked it was usually in the empty tutor center. Although Jake never blown Haley off, Haley thought it best to not act like they were friends in public for fear that his friends would tease him. Now it seemed that rather than being made fun of for talking to her all these people were pushing each other out of the way to be hear her.

Finally Nathan returned, Haley had found his long absence slightly suspicious but decided not to mention it. She didn't want it to seem like she was worried about him or as if she even cared whether he returned or not. She wanted Nathan to think she was above it all and not even remotely invested in him. She wanted Nathan to like her way more than she liked him and Haley wanted him to think she was way over her league. Even though she knew none of this was true she wanted Nathan to believe all of this. Haley wanted to be in control for once.

"Well I would have come back sooner but I saw you chatting with Peyton so I decided to hang back." Nathan handed Haley a small glass of punch and sat down where Peyton had previously been.

"Thanks, that was an interesting conversation." Haley said taking a sip of her punch before quickly realizing it was much more vodka then punch. Nathan must have noticed her reaction.

"Oh yeah sorry about that I think Tim might have slipped something in the punch bowl." Nathan said grabbing the cup from Haley's hand.

"So what did Peyton have to say?" Nathan asked.

"Don't worry about it. She didn't say anything too bad although she did mention something about your pension for falling head over heels in love with girls really quickly and I just want you to know that I refuse to be one of those girls." Nathan looked confused by her sarcasms.

Haley attempted a quick recovery and borrowed a line from one of her favorite novels.

"Can you promise me one thing?" Nathan looked at her very seriously and shook his head.

"You cannot fall in love with me, alright?" Haley gave him a knowing smile to make sure that he knew she was just messing with him.

"Hey all I can do is my best. I'll try and restrain myself as much as possible." Nathan gave her his signature smirk. He wasn't sure if this girl was crazy or incredibly charming but either way a part of him felt like he would break that promise. The way he felt about this girl after only a few hours was more intense than anything he had ever felt in his entire life. Nathan suddenly became terrified and made himself a promise to never give this girl the upper hand again. He had to be his usually self and not let her get to her because that's just not how Nathan Scott rolled.


	5. Last Dance

_**I just realized I made a mistake in continuity and claimed that Nathan and Lucas had never spoken then I stated that they played one on one like in the pilot. So let's assume they played their one on one game, Lucas still wins but turns down Whitey's offer and they never spoke again. Again sorry about this mistake it had just been a long time between updates and I forgot what I had written. Haha oh well. **_

* * *

The dance floor began to fill with people as principle Turner ascended the stairs to the stage. It was time to announce the prom king and queen. Haley looked around the room to see everyone crowding around her and Nathan. They had been dancing in the very center of the dance floor and Haley knew that in a matter of minutes Nathan would undoubtedly be announced as prom king. She knew how this worked, he would be crowned, give a speech, then dance sweetly with whatever vapid cheerleader won. As Haley looked towards the back of the room, she noticed a large group of people scattered across the back wall. Not one of them attempted to approach the dance floor and none looked as excited about what was about to happen as the people currently standing around Haley. They were all outsiders, standing against the far wall watching this world they were seemed so detached from. Haley scanned the crowd and noticed a few people like Glenda Ferrell, Abby Morgan, Marcus, Rusty, and Shelly Simon and all her clean teen buddies. Haley knew these people, these were HER people. Haley suddenly felt embarrassingly out of place. She wanted to run as fast as she could from the dance floor, out the double doors, into the parking lot, and drive home as fast as possible. The group of people around Haley had packed themselves in so tight she could barely move. Then Principle Turner approached the microphone and began.

"Congratulations seniors, I hope everyone is having a great time tonight."

The entire crowd cheered as Haley attempted with little success to slip backwards into the crowd and away from Nathan. Nathan didn't seem to notice Haley's feeble attempts to escape. It was obvious he knew he was going to win and he was prepping himself for this moment.

"Alright, that sounds good. It's the moment you have all been looking forward to. It's time to announce our senior class prom king and queen".

More cheers came from the crowd as coach Whitey Durham approached Principle Turner and handed him two white envelops. Erica Marsh followed behind him quickly with two crowns in her hands, looking far too eager. This made Haley's stomach turn even more seeing Erica Marsh up there looking so desperate to fit in with these people. For as long as she could remember Erica Marsh had always been painfully desperate to fit in with the popular crowd while Haley had never really cared. Now with no effort at all Haley was one of them and Erica had spent years doing anything she could to fit into no avail. This crowd was exclusive, so many would have given anything to be able to stand where Haley was right now. Haley let that sink in for a moment while she listened.

"First off is our Tree Hill Prom king and the winner is…." the drummer in the band that was on stage behind Principle Turner gave a quick drum roll while he opened the envelope.

"No surprise here, Nathan Scott."

The crowd cheered while some very loud boos could be heard from the back of the room. Nathan had been moving closer and closer to the stage during Principle Turner's speech in anticipation for what he knew was coming. All Haley could think was, my god that's cocky, but then again he had been right. The boy had been for all intensive purposes King of Tree Hill High for the last four years. Haley watched Nathan run up the stairs, saunter over to the microphone in front of Principle Turner. He stood there for a moment looking out into the crowd as Turner and Coach Durham shook his hand. Then Erica stepped forward and placed the crown on Nathan's head. Erica was obviously excited to be so close to Nathan but he didn't seem to even notice her presence. He just kept staring into the crowd as if he was searching for something.

This is my moment, Nathan thought. I'm supposed to run up on stage grab my crown from what's her face and yell some stupid comment into the microphone to make everyone laugh and then make some crazy gesture like grabbing the newly crowned queen and full on make out with her or something to ensure people would never forgot this moment.

That had been his plan all along but as he stood up there with everyone starring back at him all Nathan could do was gaze back at the same set of beautiful brown eyes he had been looking into all night. The pull this girl had on him was not remotely normal. No girl had ever done this to him before. He couldn't put his finger on it but this girl was different from every other girl he had ever met. She was astonishing.

Haley watched the next few moments go by like a silent film. Nathan approached the microphone and yelled something about the kickass senior class. Then Turner announced Brooke Davis had won queen. Then she said a few inane things about what an honor this was. Then to everyone's shock she turned around and grabbed Nathan by the collar and full on made out with him, right there in front of everyone. Haley's eyes became hot and filled with tears. She didn't understand why this was upsetting her so much. She couldn't let anyone see her cry, so she quickly dried her eyes and slowly pushed her way out of the crowd. Then without a moment's hesitation she headed straight for the doors leading out to the parking lot. Haley ran furiously to her parent's car, just as her eyes began to fill up with tears. She quickly unlocked the driver's side door and climbed inside.

She leaned her head against the steering wheel and just let the tears fall. She was so confused, why was she crying right now? Was she really that jealous of Nathan and Brooke's kiss? No. That couldn't be it, she thought. A few hours ago she had hated his boy and for good reason. He and his father had been terrible to her best friend and his mother. She had heard the stories about his countless fights and all the times he picked on anyone who he deemed an outsider.

Haley had started this night with the intention of getting back at Nathan and all his friends by simply messing with them but she had gotten in far too deep. It was not that she had grown to care about them all so deeply in the last few hours that she couldn't dare hurt them, it was more about how utterly lost she felt. Haley was pretending to be so many things she wasn't and she was beginning to feel guilty for perpetrating this lie. When everyone else around her remained an outsider and played their part Haley had taken the opportunity to pretend to be something she wasn't. She was pretending to be popular and just like all the rest of _them_. Haley was roused from her thoughts by a small tapping on her window. She looked up to see Glenda Ferrell staring back at her. Haley knew Glenda but wasn't sure Glenda recognized her. Never the less she rolled her window down.

"Hey, so I was coming out here for some air and noticed you out here crying. Mind if I ask what's wrong?"

Haley whipped the tears from her eyes and smiled sweetly at Glenda.

"Oh its nothing Glenda, don't worry about it."

"Wait how do you know who I am?" Glenda stared at Haley intensely, she was studying her. Then all of a sudden her eyes filled with recognition.

"My God! Haley James is that you?" She was shocked Glenda figured it out so quickly when so many hadn't.

"Yeah, I decided to change things up but I now I'm thinking it was all a huge mistake."

Glenda laughed out loud. She looked like she could barely hold herself together.

"Are you kidding me? Haley you have pulled off the ultimate high school dream."

"What are you talking about?"

She suddenly became very serious and placed her hand on the car.

"Look we have known each other for thirteen years and we have always hung around the same crowd of people. We have spent our whole lives as outsiders and I completely understand what you're doing. For once all the people who spent the last thirteen years of your life ignoring you are now fighting each other to be near you. You look the part and no one is calling you out because they have all been so caught up in their own lives they don't even realize they know you. You are finally breaking down these stupid walls everyone put up. Don't you understand that any of us would give everything to be able to do what you're doing right now?"

Haley was shocked she never realized what this meant.

"Look Haley if I could pull off what you have then I would do everything I could to take advantage of this moment for as long as it lasts. Do me a favor, heck do us all a favor and live this night to the fullest. Do everything you would never do. Say everything you would never say. You have this amazing opportunity don't take it for granted. So the next time you think this night was a mistake, think of Erica Marsh." They both laughed knowing just how desperate that girl was to fit in.

"Remember her and how hard she worked to be where you are right now. Think of the countless times they all blew her off and appreciate the fact that you achieved the impossible. More than that Nathan Scott has spent the entire night nearly stalking you. That boy has spent his entire life being told is can have whatever he wants and that he deserves everything possible. Every girl in this school wants him and would do anything to get with him and he knows it. Nathan has never chased after a girl in his life."

Haley knew Glenda was right, she had seen all the girls fawn all over him for years. She had seen Nathan with these girls and knew he just used them and threw them away. He never seemed care about any of them. That is was made his actions tonight so strange. He seemed to be doing everything he could to impress Haley and keep her interested.

"Yeah, I know I'm just confused as to why I'm the girl he chose to chase after."

"I'm guessing it's probably because he can tell your way more special then the girls he is used to hooking up with."

"Well I sure am different than those girls."

"Yeah you are and do us all a favor and maybe let a little of our world wipe off on theirs."

Haley nodded and shifted around in her seat. Glenda stepped back and Haley got out of the car.

"So can you tell I've been crying?" Glenda looked a Haley for a moment.

"Nope you're good. Now get back in there."

Haley started to head back inside before she realized that Glenda wasn't following her.

"Wait Glenda aren't you going back inside?"

"Nope I think I've had enough for one night but please cease this moment."

Haley nodded her head and started towards the school again. She was right, this night was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she had to embrace it to the fullest.

It had been nearly twenty minutes since Brooke's little outburst and Nathan had yet to find Haley. He had searched the entire crowd and even the hallways and hadn't found her.

Where did this girl go? I can't believe she just took off. I know that was kinda crazy but she didn't seem like the jealous type. Heck she didn't even seem like she gave a crap about me so why would that make her leave. I mean she tried to leave once maybe she was just waiting for the right moment when I wasn't looking to skip out on me.

Nathan walked down the hall and stood outside the doors of the dance. All of a sudden he heard a pair of heels clicking down the hallway getting closer and closer to him. Then he finally looked up to see Haley gracefully walking towards him. She walked so beautifully, he thought. It looked as if she was floating. A huge smile spread across his face.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. What happened?"

Haley assumed Nathan hadn't even noticed her absence but clearly that was not the case.

"Nothing, it was just getting a little stuffy in there and I needed some air." Haley said with a small laugh.

Nathan slid his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders.

"I thought you left." Haley scoffed at his last statement. She walked right up to him and put her arm through his.

"Nope. I wouldn't do that we are having far too much fun."

Nathan looked shocked and pleased at the same time.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Haley led Nathan back inside the dance. He never took his eyes off her. The moment they entered the room Brooke came running towards them.

"I'm so sorry about that Haley. I totally forgot that you were Nathan's date tonight." Haley wasn't sure how sorry Brooke really was about what she did but Haley decided to brush it off.

"First off you have nothing to be sorry about it's not a big deal." Haley paused for a moment and looked up at Nathan. He had a look of what could only be described as slight embarrassment and panic. Haley realized that Nathan had obviously lead people to believe she was his date. Haley took mercy on Nathan's ego and decided to play it cool.

"Anyway I'm not really the jealous type." Haley said with a smirk. Then she pulled her arm out from Nathan's and grabbed him by his tie and pulled him by it onto the dance floor. She looked back to see the shocked but almost pleased look on Brooke's face.

"I'm sorry Brooke thought you were my date I promise I didn't tell anyone that. They just must have assumed."

"Well you know what they say when you assume." Haley was being so cool and she could tell Nathan was buying every bit of it. Inside Haley was so nervous that any moment he would realize who she was a dump her so fast it would make her head spin.

"So the dance is almost over. What's next?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well the night is still young. What do you have planned for us to do next?"

Nathan was shocked and quickly tried to come up with something to keep her entertained and around him as long as possible.

"Let's see there is this big party at my parent's beach house afterwards. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like a nice start to the evening." Haley arched her eye brow.

"Alright then." Nathan nodded. He realized he would have to step up his game tonight. He would have to pull out all the stops for this girl.

Suddenly the music cut out and Principle Turner approached the microphone again.

"Alright kids this is the final dance of the night so make it count."

The music started up again but this song was different than all the rest. This song was slow and had the most beautiful melody Haley had ever heard.

_I don't know you_

_But I want you_

_All the more for that_

_Words fall through me_

_And always fool me_

_And I can't react_

_And games that never amount_

_To more than they're meant_

_Will play themselves out_

Nathan wrapped his arms around Haley's waist and stared down at her. Haley flung her arms around Nathan's neck. She suddenly noticed something was missing.

"Hey where is your crown?"

_Take this sinking boat and point it home_

_We've still got time_

_Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice_

_You've made it now_

Nathan shrugged his shoulders.

"I gave it to Tim. I'm not really the crown wearing type."

Haley was shocked to hear this. She had always assumed Nathan relished his role as King but maybe that wasn't the case.

_Falling slowly, eyes that know me_

_And I can't go back_

_Moods that take me and erase me_

_And I'm painted black_

_You have suffered enough_

_And warred with yourself_

_It's time that you won_

Haley looked up at Nathan as if her feelings towards him had just grown. He seemed to notice her sudden change in mood. He could tell she was warming up to him.

_Take this sinking boat and point it home_

_We've still got time_

_Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice_

_You've made it now_

_Falling slowly sing your melody_

_I'll sing along_

Haley could feel it deep inside, this night was only just beginning. She was suddenly struck by the notion that tonight was going to be the start of something huge. Nathan could feel it too. He just knew this night was going to be special and incredibly important. So he decided that he would record everything about this night into his memory as not to forget a single moment.

* * *

_**Again sorry about the long wait for the update things are just kind of crazy right now. Thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews. Great stuff is on the way I promise. This night is going to be long and very involved. Look forward to some good NH moments. The song is "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.**_


	6. After Party

Sorry it took so long for another update but things have been crazy. Thanks for all the feedback I really appreciate it and take what you say to heart. One person mentioned that I might be changing Haley a little too fast and you know what, they were right. I realized I was going a little too far with her transformation and I decided to tone it down. I perfer to write for this Haley anyway. Hope this stays a little closer to the character and for fun I've added a few quotes you might recognize. Hope you all enjoy!

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The song faded out and everyone began to slowly file out of the dance and into the hallway. The dance floor had emptied with the exception of two people still immersed in the final notes of the song and each other's eyes. Nathan and Haley swayed softly to some beautiful melody playing in their heads as silence fell on the room. They hadn't seem to notice that the dance had ended until the DJ, who begun taking down his, speakers, suddenly dropped one. This was loud enough to pull Haley out of her Nathan induced haze but not enough for Nathan to notice. Haley tried to brush the moment off by breaking the quiet that had fallen between them.

"So I guess this is really it, then?"

Haley's voice pulled Nathan back into reality.

"What?"

"The end of the dance, prom is officially over now."

"How about that? Spend your entire life wondering about this night then all of a sudden it's over."

"Yeah, it's strange when you realize you have just passed by what was supposed to be one of the most significant moments in your life."

"Well I hope I made it at least a little memorable for you." Nathan said with a smirk.

All Haley could think was, my God, you have no idea just how memorable this night has been. Nathan looked around the room for the first time and realized nearly every student had left, the only people left were a few faculty members and chaperons that were cleaning up.

"I guess we better head out." Nathan slipped his hand into Haley's and began to tow her into the hallway.

Haley suddenly realized they were headed to the limo Nathan had arrived in. Haley couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the notion that she would be confined to a small space with all of Nathan's friends. Haley wasn't sure what she should do. All she knew was that she hated the idea of getting in that limo. Nathan could feel her reluctance before he turned around and saw the look on her face that only reaffirmed what he had felt. Haley was nervous, and he could feel her pulling away.

"Hey, what's up?"

Haley was startled she couldn't believe Nathan had noticed her sudden change in mood. She really thought she had been more subtle than that. Haley tried to gather herself. She attempted to brush off her feelings of dread. She smiled up at Nathan and lied through her teeth.

"Oh nothing. I'm just a little sad the dance is over but I remember you promised me more much was to come, right?" Nathan nodded in agreement.

"Right. Oh, so I don't know who you came with or what you came in but I was thinking you could ride to the party with me and my friends in our limo. Does that sound ok?"

"You know what that sounds great."

Nathan walked slowly out off the school towards the waiting limo, all the while towing a very anxious Haley behind him. As they approached the limo it appeared as if everyone was already inside with the expectation of Tim who was leaning against the limo no doubt dutifully awaiting Nathan's arrive.

Tim was like a Nathan's very own golden retriever, not too smart, but loyal, and he seemed to follow Nathan everywhere.

Tim took the hint and climbed inside. Nathan followed and pulled Haley with him. The limo was filled with all the pretty and the popular. It was obvious that most of them were a little drunk. Bottles of, God-knows-what were being passed around, rap music was blaring from the speakers, and a few couples were staring to go at it. Haley felt so out of place but luckily the ride to Nathan's beach house was short and no one really spoke to her. Everyone seemed too busy with themselves to engage her. Even Nathan only spoke to her twice to ask her if she was having fun. Finally the limo came to a stop. Nathan shoved the door open and jumped out.

"Home sweet home. We have arrived!"

Nathan yelled as he threw his arms in the air. He looked like a king arriving at his castle. Nearly everyone turned and cheered at the sight of their prom king. Nathan leaned into the limo and grabbed Haley's hand. He pulled her slowly from the car. The moment Haley stepped out she was immediately taken back by how enormous the house was and by the looks of things the party seemed to be in full swing. There were bikini clad girls everywhere, and countless kegs. Someone had started a huge bonfire in the stand and everywhere Haley looked she could see total debauchery. She did not recognize one face in the bunch; to make matters worse the house was nearly shaking with hip-hop that was being blasted from a powerful sound system somewhere within that massive house. Haley froze. She had gotten herself in way too deep. This was not her scene and there was no way she could go on pretending. Everyone else pilled out of the limo and ran past Haley towards the party. Nathan could feel Haley's hand go ice cold.

"Hey is there something wrong?"

Haley finally snapped out of her terrified trance and pulled her hand out of Nathan's strong grip.

"Um yeah, kind of. This isn't really my kind of scene, I think I'm just going to head home."

"What no way. You agreed to a night full of adventure, right? You can't leave now."

"I know what I said but……" Haley went quiet and Nathan could tell she was starting to pull away once again.

"Look its fine we can go somewhere else, ok. I mean this is probably way beneath you anyway. Plus I've been to like a hundred of these I'm sure I won't miss anything I haven't seen before."

"No Nathan. This is your house and your party, you can't leave."

Nathan grabbed Haley's hand.

"Watch me." Nathan led Haley towards the beach and away from the ragging party. They walked for a while until the noise from the party was so faint it was barely noticeable. Nathan stopped abruptly and plopped himself in the sand, pulling Haley down with him.

"So is this better?"

Haley looked around, it was beautiful. The sky was dark, nearly pitch black and the only lights that could be seen were the white Christmas lights some residents decorated their docks and walkways with. It was quiet enough that you could hear the soft crashing of the waves as they hit the beach. There seemed to be no one for miles. They were completely and totally alone. Haley smiled for the first time in a while. She had finally calmed down.

"Yeah actually this is perfect." Haley smiled sweetly at Nathan. Nathan started to slowly close the distance between them.

"So were alone."

"Yep." Haley looked around searching for someone else, anyone else that might stop Nathan from trying to do whatever it was he had planned.

"I was just thinking now we can finally…."

"I'll stop you right there. I know what you were just thinking and I'll warn you that I'm nothing like the girls you usually take to secluded spots on the beach late at night."

"God girl, you don't think much of me do you?"

"Well I don't really know you. I just know what I hear and what I've heard doesn't really paint you in the best light."

"Maybe you shouldn't be so worried about what others say and draw your own conclusions."

"Yeah I'll work on that." Haley half snorted.

"I'm serious, come on. People don't really know me. They think they know who I am and what's important to me but the truth is I feel like no one really knows me at all."

(beat)

"Just to clarify about earlier I was just going to say that I was glad we finally have the chance to talk."

"Talk, alright talking is good. Just know I will not put up with any of your, "I'm Nathan Scott scoring my touchdowns" bluster and b.s. you're so famous for."

"First off touchdowns are in football. Second of all I don't plan on bull shitting you."

"Good. Plus by b.s. detector is fine tuned. I doubt you'd even be able to get one past me."

"Somehow I totally believe that."

"So what should we do now?"

"Hum. I've got an idea, you tell me."

"Alright, honest, noble Nathan Scott, tell me one true thing about yourself that no one else knows."

"I can agree to that but you have to go first." Haley sucked a huge breath of air and took a few moments to decide exactly what she was willing to reveal. Once she was able to gather up enough courage her words came following out like a newly opened damn.

"Sometimes I feel incredibly disconnected. I feel really uncomfortable in my own skin. Like I don't fit into this world. Like I was born at the wrong time and I don't belong. And that scares me when I think about growing up and having kids because I would never want my children to feel like they didn't belong." She finished while letting out a huge burst of air as if she had been holding her breath during that entire speech.

"Yeah but the truth is I think deep down everyone feels that way. Some are just able to hide it better than others."

"Even you?"

"Even me. 99.9 percent of the time I feel so unbelievably fake I make myself sick. Over the years I've become the worst possible version of myself."

"Mind if I throw in my two cents?"

"Go right ahead."

"If you hate the way you act so much then why don't you just change it?"

"Because it's not that easy. Everyone sees me a certain way and if I suddenly started acting completely different then people would probably see it as some kind of betrayal. I've learned to play my part and play it well. I'm sure you wouldn't understand."

"No, actually I understand perfectly. Everyone in my life has always put me up on this pedestal. They always expect me to act like this perfect, clean cut, boring, reliable, bookworm that is mature beyond her years."

"That doesn't seem so bad."

"I guess but that means people leave no room for me to screw up. Any time I try to do something young and foolish my parents and even my friends look at me like, my God what is wrong with you? Sometimes I feel like I always have to make the safe choice and follow my head instead of my heart."

"I could see how that might suck but I get the complete opposite. People seem shocked when they find out I'm not just some dumb jock, asshole, who doesn't care about anything other than partying, getting laid, and basketball. I think it's because people see my father and they assume I'm just like him."

"I don't know your father but as far as I can tell you are nothing like him. Everyone seems to think your shallow but I think they couldn't be more wrong. I think you care so much about the feelings of others that you've compromised your own beliefs in order to make them happy. I also think that if you ever really let down those huge walls you put up and really let someone in then they would find out that you were really an amazing person."

"Thanks. It's just not that easy to let people in."

"You're welcome but look at it this way if you did decide to really let someone in and they didn't like the real you than chances are that person isn't worth spending your time with anyway."

"I guess that's true but to be honest I've never meant anyone that made me want to let down my guard. I guess I've never really cared enough about my friends or the girls I've dated to really let them in. I know most of my friends aren't really my true friends. They just hang out with me because I'm Nathan Scott, star shooting guard for the Tree Hill Ravens and son of Dan Scott. Once great basketball player, Mayor of Tree Hill, and owner of Dan Scott Motors, with all that fame and fortune my dad seems to thrive in there was no room for slacking."

"Seems like a lot to live up to."

"You have no idea. You know I this half brother...", Haley couldn't believe her ears had Nathan actually admitted being related to Lucas.

"Whom my father had in high school and never really claimed as his own. Sometimes I think he got the better end of the deal." Haley was shocked and knowing how tough growing up without a father had been on Lucas she was curious to hear why Nathan thought being fatherless was better.

"Why would you say that? I mean this kid spent his whole life never knowing his father. Why in the world would you rather have that life?"

"Let's just say I would rather have grown up fatherless than with the one I have."

As the night war on the weather began to cool down. After a while Haley started to shiver, her dress was short and offered no warmth. Nathan noticed Haley's shivers and removed his suit jacket. He smiled at Haley as if to ask if what he was about to do was ok, she nodded. He placed his jacket over her shoulders and Haley shrugged it on. Nathan let out a small laugh seeing this small girl swimming in is oversized jacket. Haley smirked at Nathan's laugh, then she removed her heels and laid them beside her.

"Thanks, so I guess you're really not such a womanizer after all?" Haley arched her eyebrows.

"I guess that would depend on your definition of the word."

"My definition of the word would probably be any guy who flirts with tons of girls, leads some on, sleeps around a lot, and generally does his best to stay away from any type of commitment. Oh and he probably treats girls like crap because he thinks he can get any woman he wants and he doesn't need to waste his time with romance."

"Ok"

"You see the truth is, with guys like that it's all about immediate satisfaction and a lack of self confidence."

"Wait a second a lack of self confidence. I thought you just said these guys think they can get any girl they want?"

"I did and they do think that but they don't think enough of who they are on the inside to really get involved with someone. They think that having a different girl every night is much easier and safer because they never have to worry about letting their guard down."

"Wow. You've really though this out haven't you?"

"I guess."

"So what does that make me?"

"From everything I've heard and seen I figured you were just as I explained."

"Maybe a little but I did have one serious girlfriend."

"True. You dated Peyton for like a year, right?"

"Yeah. Boy was that a disaster. I believe Brooke once referred to our relationship as a whole bunch of break ups and one night stands thrown together."

"That sounds romantic." Haley replied sarcastically.

"You're being sarcastic again, huh?"

Haley smiled sweetly and nodded. Suddenly she noticed the sullen look on Nathan's face.

"Were things ever good between you two?"

"Yeah, at first but the problem was I never really loved Peyton. I loved myself far too much, there just didn't seem to be room for anyone else. I'm pretty sure the most romantic thing I ever did for her was when I held her hair while she puked after I got her drunk for the first time."

Haley didn't know what to say. Nathan seemed so pensive. Nathan was getting increasingly nervous, he hadn't meant to reveal as much as he had. He wasn't sure he liked this girl knowing so much about him. Yet he couldn't help from doing anything to please her.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yeah, thanks. If it counts for anything you've done some pretty romantic things for me tonight."

"Actually that does help. You know I don't think I've ever told anyone that stuff before."

"Really, but you barley know me."

"Maybe that's the point. Maybe the point of all of this is to get to know each other and have this one perfect night together. Even if we never see each other again."

"Maybe."

They continued on like that for hours, just talking about everything and nothing at the same time. They talked about the pressures they felt and their crazy families. Nathan told Haley all about his control freak of a father and his pill popping absentee mother. He talked about his hatred of his parents need for money and their ability to ignore Nathan's shitty behavior in favor of his scoring average. Haley discussed her parents, Lydia and Jimmy, and their hippy dippy ways. She talked about her three older brothers and her older sisters, Vivian, Taylor, and Quinn. She told Nathan all about the craziness of growing up in a house as the youngest of seven kids and what it was like having two parents that were constantly over whelmed and unprepared. She also talked about how much her family loved and cared for each other. Nathan was fascinated by Haley's stories of the insane fights her and her siblings got into. Nathan had been brought up with no other kids around and couldn't help but imagine how different his childhood would have been. And Haley quickly learned that everything she though she knew about Nathan Scott could not have been farther from the truth. At 18 Nathan craved for a family of his own that would be everything his parents weren't. More than anything Nathan wanted a son. He wanted his son to be proud of him for being a loving father who treated his mother with love and admiration. Nathan wanted his son to look up to him as this great man that always made him feel loved and appreciated. Nathan wanted to be for his son, everything Dan wasn't to him. He wanted to show Dan up in every way possible whether it be financially, athletically, or even personally. He wanted to make sure that he could prove to Dan that he could a better player, a better father, a better husband, a better friend, and maybe one day a better brother than Dan ever was. Haley couldn't believe that deep down Nathan yearned for a relationship with Lucas and even a closer relationship with his uncle Keith. Nathan admitted that his entire life he had craved his father's attention and did everything he could to make Dan proud. Nathan told Haley that for as long as he could remember he always wished for the moment when Dan would finally tell him how proud he was of him but after winning the state championship and numerous division one college basketball scholarships Nathan realized if Dan hadn't said it then, chances are he never would. Hours passed and the sun began to peak over the horizon. After a lull in the conversation Haley noticed that the sun had risen.

"Wow, I think it's nearly morning."

"Yeah, I guess we must have lost track of time. Some night of adventure, eh?"

"Actually it was kinda perfect." Haley smiled sweetly at Nathan.

"I can't be we talked all night long. I don't think I've ever done that before. You have a strange effect on me Haley."

"What can I say I guess I'm just that special." Nathan realized Haley was just making a joke but in his mind she couldn't be more serious. Haley was special, probably the most special person he had ever met.

"You sure are." Nathan looked deep into Haley's eyes. He wanted to make sure she knew just how sincere he was. Haley could definitely tell but when he stared at her like that, with his cobalt blue eyes pouring down on her, it seemed like he could see her in every way possible. She felt to exposed and so out of her element when he looked at her that way. She felt like she had no control, if Nathan were to ask her to go jump off a bridge with him right now she imagined she probably would agree in a second.

"What time is it?" Haley replied breaking the palpable sexual tension. Nathan slowly pulled his cell phone from his pocket, Haley looked surprised, she had no idea Nathan had is phone with him this entire time. She had never heard it go off once.

"I didn't know you had your cell phone with you?"

"Yeah, I just shut it off because I didn't want anyone to interrupt our conversation." Haley couldn't help find this endearing.

"Let's see, it's about 5 am." Haley looked over at Nathan's phone and finally realized she didn't have hers.

"Shoot, I just realized I left my purse inside my car. Which is parked back at the school."

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, kinda, yeah. My phone, wallet and keys are in there."

"Wait did you just say you left your keys inside your car?"

"Yeah….." Haley wasn't sure what Nathan was getting at.

"Did you lock your doors?"

"Of course I did. There probably safe then, right?"

"Hales" Haley paused at Nathan use of the nickname that only Lucas have ever used. She couldn't believe he said that. No one called her Hales and Nathan had no way of knowing that. He must have come up with it all on his own. Then she began to wonder why he seemed so worried and all of a sudden it hit her.

"Oh shit! I totally just locked myself out of my car, didn't I?"

"Sounds like it."

Haley put her hands over her face and shook her head repeatedly. She couldn't believe herself. She let out a small yell of frustration while picking up a handful of sand and throwing it.

"Calm down it's not that big of a deal."

"Actually it is. You see there are only three copies of the car key, one is locked inside the car, one is with my parents who are out of town, and the other is back at my house."

"Well no biggy, I can just take you home."

"Right but you see my house key is with my car key and once again I dutifully locked up my house." Haley let out another yell of frustration.

"This is just friggin great."

"Actually it is." Nathan smirked. "Now you have to spend the rest of the day with me until someone can unlock your car."

"I guess so."Haley shrugged. It didn't seem like she had another option. All her friends were out of town and Karen was working all day. Truth be told Haley relished the idea of spending more time with Nathan.

"I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry."

"I guess I could go for some food."

"Alright then, how about we get some breakfast, I know the farmer's market is open so we can grab some food and go sit at one of the benches down at the river walk pier."

"Sounds good to me." Nathan started to get up but Haley pulled him back down.

"Wait aren't we going to look a little odd dressed like this?" Haley gestured to their prom clothes. They looked like quite a pair; both were barefoot and slightly disheveled. The top three buttons on Nathan's shirt had come undone, his tie was hanging out of one of his pockets, and his socks were stuffed into the other. A part of Haley's hair was still in big beautiful curls but the rest had straightened out. She was still wearing Nathan's oversized jacket and both of them were covered in sand. Nathan looked both of them up and down. Then he smiled.

"Nah. I think we look great." Nathan's smile reduced Haley's cheeks to the brightest of reds. Nathan slowly stood up and brushed himself off. Then he turned around to pick up his shoes in one hand while offering Haley the other. Haley stared at his open hand for a moment then finally placed her hand in his after gathering her own shoes in her other hand. As they started to walk back towards the house, Haley looked down at their intertwined hands. She was suddenly aware of this overwhelming feeling that their hands had been fastened like two pieces of a puzzle to fit perfectly together. It was as if by being joined they completed this grand picture. This sent shivers down her spine. Nathan looked over at Haley and followed her gaze to their hands. He looked back up to Haley's face and wondered if she too realized just how perfectly they seemed to fit together. In that moment both Nathan and Haley were hit with the very odd notion that maybe, just maybe, they were destined to be together, somehow.


	7. The Morning After

God bless you if your reading this because it has been nearly three years since I updated it. My relationship was a roller coaster one and the last two seasons didn't put me in a oth loving mood but lately I've been feeling nostalgic and now that I've graduated from college I have a good deal more time on my hands. Thanks for all the fantastic response to this story. So much more to come and I love being in the mind set of what the end of season four would have looked like if their lives had gone differently.

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Hand in hand they walked from the beach towards Nathan's car. Luckily Tim hadn't driven off in it again and no one had vandalized it during the events of last night. Nathan rummaged around in his pocket until he realized he didn't have the keys. He didn't want to panic Haley any more so he quickly tried to think of every place his keys could have been until his gaze met a passed out Tim Smith. Tim was sprawled out on the lawn inches from Nate's car with the keys in hand. It looks like Tim tried to take his car but was too damn drunk to even make it far enough before he passed out. Nathan quietly and quickly walked over to Tim and pried the keys from his hand. He could hear Haley giggling from where he stood.

"Shh."

"What happened to him?"

"Oh to Tim."

"Yeah."

"Nothing he just got really drunk and passed out."

"Ok but why did you just steal his keys?"

"I didn't. I stole my keys back."

"Incase this isn't obvious but why did Tim have your car keys?"

"That's because Tim's a jealous idiot and is like in love with my car but knows there is no way in hell I would ever let him drive it so every time we party together and he thinks I'm drunk enough he tries to take my car out for a spin. Looks like he almost made it this time."

"Tim's a weird little guy."

"Yeah."

Nathan unlocked his trunk and pulled out a gym bag. He handed Haley a pair of flip flops and a baggy sweatshirt. They were Nathan's so they were about ten sizes too big on Haley but at least she was warm and comfortable now. She handed Nathan his suit jacket back and she threw her heels in the trunk. Then they both climbed inside and Nathan drove towards the market street pier. The car ride was short and neither of them spoke.

Haley tried to clear her thoughts of Nathan and figure out some way to unlock her damn car. This proved to be much harder for her than she had anticipated. Every time she tried to avert her attention away from him something would happen. Either the ac would blow the smell of his cologne her way or his arm would brush hers and her brain would melt into a warm gooey Nathan Scott syrupy puddle. To be fare Nathan wasn't doing any better but he had years of practice under his belt and he knew how to play the game. But deep down he knew this girl was different, very different. He could feel it, she was going to be a challenge and there was nothing Nathan loved more.

They arrived at the pier just as the dockside business began it prep for the typical early morning breakfast crowd. The sun was up but it was so early the sky remained grey with a good deal of fog and the ground was covered in early morning dew. It was 5:30 in the morning and everything seemed new. As they walked the pier together they each played their own private game of, get as close as you can without touching. Neither wanted to push things but both of them yearned for proximity. After finally settling on a small coffee cart Nathan paid the man for their breakfast and walked over to a wooden bench that overlooked the river. Haley sat quietly looking out over the water. One hand propping up her head and the other was tapping out a slow rhythm on the old table. Nathan's appreciate startled her.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Nathan sat down in the seat across from her and slid over a cup of orange juice and a croissant.

"Oh." She looked down at the croissant and frowned. No butter. She hated a dry croissant but didn't want to say anything. When she looked back up at Nathan he was grinning like a lunatic and promptly pulled two butter packets and a knife from his pants pocket and handed them to her.

"Thank you." Haley smiled. It was such a small gesture but it made Haley's heart swell. She really needed to get a grip on herself. All the boy did was get her a butter packet. Why was she acting like he has bought her the hope diamond. This was silly. She tried to shrug it off and went on with buttering her croissant and sipping her juice. She watched Nathan pick apart his chocolate chip muffin and downed his large cup of presumably highly caffeinated coffee. Neither spoke. They just ate in silence. Once they were both finished Nathan picked up their trash and quickly disposed of it in a near by trash bin. Haley sat quietly mulling over the events of the last 24 hours. She couldn't believe all that had happened in such a short amount of time. Nathan sat back down and attempted to stare at her in a less than blatant way but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off this incredible woman. He knew little about her but what he did know he liked and he yearned to know more. Reluctantly he broke their silence.

"So you want to drive back to the school and see if we can get into your car?" Haley's face dropped. This is it, she thought. It was a nice moment but he obviously wants to be rid of me now. Haley couldn't have been more wrong. Nathan began to formulate numerous plans in his head to keep her in his company as long as he could.

"Sure. I can't thank you enough for breakfast and being so helpful."

"Its nothing really." Nathan shrugged. Haley knew this was potentially a bad idea but right now her brain was being overridden by her emotions. She reached over and gently placed her hand atop Nathan's. The moment they made contact there was an almost audible spark that radiated out between them. It wasn't subtle. They both stared at one another, shocked. Haley quickly removed her hand and slid it into her lap, under the table. Nathan sucked in a, finally reaching the surface after almost drowning, breath of air. And shook his head. That can't have been real, he thought.

"Did that just happen?" Nathan's words shocked her. She knew what she felt but she was surprised he had felt it too. What was there to say. She couldn't explain it anymore than he could. She couldn't find her voice and simply nodded in reply.

After that things went from comfortable silence to awkward, intense silence. The walk to the car and the drive to the school were completely wordless. Neither one knew what to say and neither one was brave enough to be the first to speak. Once they arrived at the school it was obvious that there was no one around to help and there was no getting inside the van. Haley knew better than to call Keith or Karen at this hour but she was desperate.

"Do you mind if I borrow your phone?" Nathan didn't reply but pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it over.

"Thanks. This will be short I promise."

"No worries." Nathan starred blankly out through the windshield of his car onto the empty school parking lot. Haley hastily dialed Keith's home phone but there was no answer. She was desperate. She hung up and tried his cell, work, the café, Karen's cell and her home phone. She tried Keith's cell once more and finally someone picked up.

"Keith Scott's phone." A groggy female voice answered.

"Umm this is Haley is Keith there?"

"Oh Haley honey its me Karen, is everything alright?"

"Karen what are you doing with Keith's phone?"

"Lucas called us late last night and asked us to come join them so we decided to take off early this morning. You know the long drive and all."

"Oh, um how far are you?"

"Oh gosh I don't know. We left around 4 this morning. So about two hours out, why?"

"Nothing I just did something stupid."

"What's wrong?"

"I just locked my keys in my car last night."

"Oh sweetie that sucks I'm sorry. Do you have any keys?"

"Nope. That ring had the car key, my house key, and the spare for your house and the café."

"Oh geez. Well you're kind of out of lock then huh?"

"Yeah."

"I almost forgot, last night your parents called and said to let you know they have extended their trip but they promise to be back in time for graduation."

"Great."

"Sorry hun. Do you need us to come back?"

"No. God no just have fun. I'll figure something out." Nathan's eyes lit up. Haley wasn't going anywhere soon.

"Alright let me know when you figure it all out, alright?"

"Alright, later Karen." Haley snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Nathan.

"So, what now?"

"Well I don't really know. I have no keys and no where to go."

"I would say we could go to the beach house but my guess is they will go for a two day rager so…"

"Yeah not there then."

"Yeah. Well there is always my house but I really don't want to deal with my parents right now."

"True. Well it might be a long shot but my mom's pretty ditzy and tends to leave windows open so if I'm lucky."

"Alright lets give it a shot."

Nathan turned the car on and followed Haley's directions back to her house. The mood was a bit lighter and they exchanged casual chit-chat but the lack of sleep was beginning to wear on both of them. Soon after they arrived Haley praised her mother's forgetfulness for the first time in her life. Sure enough she had left the window in their second floor hallway open that was on the back of the house. Normally this would be a problem but ever the athlete Nathan found her dad's latter on the side of the house and bounded up the shakey old thing and artfully climbed into the window. Haley watched in horror but once he was inside she couldn't help but be impressed. Nathan held the latter tight to the house in order to steady it as Haley made her way up. He could tell she was nervous but eventually she made it and Nathan stepped out of the way but held his hand out to steady her as she climbed in. Once inside Haley pulled the window shut behind her and headed towards her bedroom, forgetting for a moment that Nathan was trailing behind her.

"So this is your room?" He stood in the door way as he took in every aspect of her room.

"Yeah. Sorry. I kind of forgot you were still there." Suddenly Haley became overwhelmed by her own shyness and inexperience. She had never had a boy in room before. Nathan could tell by the look on her face that she was uncomfortable.

"Do you want me to leave?" Nathan entered her room and began to close the space between them. Haley panicked and darted out the door.

"I'm just gonna go use the bathroom. I'll be back in a second. You can just wait here."

Nathan watched Haley run from the room and realized he had messed up, yet again. He threw himself on her bed. As he stared up at Haley's ceiling he kept going over the events of the last night over and over in his head but soon the lack of sleep caught up with him and before he knew it he was sound asleep.

Haley was freaking out and once inside the bathroom she decided she would do whatever she had to stall. So she decided to take a shower and much to her delight her mother had left a basket of clean clothes out. She showered, pulled her wet hair into a tight bun and slipped on a purple v neck t-shirt that had to be her sister Taylor's because it dipped to low to be hers or her mom's. Then she pulled on a pair of, presumably Taylor's way too tight, skinny jeans. Then after a few moments of trying to psych herself up in the mirror she finally got her courage up and headed back into her bedroom. But she stopped in the doorway when she noticed Nathan lying fast asleep on her bed. As she walked closer she took in every inch of him. His tall stature, his feet hung over the end of the bed, his crumped white dress shirt, his thick, and beautiful brown hair and she stopped on his face. This boy had a beautiful face and asleep he looked even more beautiful. He looked peaceful and childlike. Every part of Haley melted. She didn't want to wake him so she tip toed over and slipped Nathan's dress shoes off and placed them on the floor beside her desk. Suddenly he began to sturr.

"Hey"

"Hey"

"Sorry I must have fallen asleep." Nathan said groggily. As he prompted himself up on his arms.

"Don't worry about it. Sorry I took so long but I once I got in there I realized how badly I needed a shower." Haley finished with a yawn.

"Its fine." Nathan yawned in response.

"Still tired, huh?"

"Yeah. You must be too." Haley yawned again. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake. Nathan scooted over and patted his hand on the empty spot on the bed beside him.

Haley was reluctant. She barely knew this boy and already he was in her bed. This was all too much. She had heard about all the woman he had humped and dumped and she wasn't ready to be another notch on his bedpost, she thought crudely. Who does this guy think he is? Nathan could sense her reluctance. He was barely awake and his intentions were purely driven by sleep.

"Don't be like that. I just meant to sleep. Just sleep. I promise I'll keep my hands to myself."

Haley could tell he was being sincere but part of her was almost disappointed. She was glad he wasn't being smarmy but the moment he made his promise not to touch her she became momentarily disappointed. This had never happened to her before. Haley had met a few guys she thought were cute over the years but she was so focused on school and work she had never gone after anyone. She had thought about it from time to time but Haley wasn't one to waste her time and she never met anyone who seemed worth her time. But all the years of waiting had turned her into someone who was now incredibly shy when it came to anything remotely having to do with sex but last night had been all about her coming out of her shell. She figured sleeping, just sleeping in the same bed was innocent enough. So she crawled in bed and faced the wall.

"Night." Nathan said quietly and rolled over to face the opposing wall. A huge smile spread across his face. He was lying in bed next to this incredible woman. Last night had been a whirlwind and for the first time he was laying in bed with a girl and sleeping. He never just slept with girls and he sure as hell never stayed the morning, completely dressed. He hadn't even gotten to first base with his girl but she had enchanted him so much he didn't want to do anything to scare her off. After what seemed like forever both of them finally drifted off to sleep just as the rest of the town was waking up.


End file.
